Ferris State Basketball Squads Ranked In Top Eight Of First NCAA Regional Rankings

Big Rapids, Mich. - Both the Ferris State University men's and women's basketball teams are listed among the top eight schools overall in the initial NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Rankings, which were announced today (Feb. 19).

The Bulldog men's squad is ranked fourth in the region with the women seventh overall this week. The top eight teams at the end of the year will earn berths into the NCAA Division II Tournament. 

Both Ferris State teams currently sit atop the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) North Division standings and hold two-game leads in the divisional race with three remaining regular-season contests.

In this week's men's basketball poll, Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) member Indianapolis is ranked first followed by fellow league representatives Truman State (Mo.) and Bellarmine (Ky.). Meanwhile, FSU is fourth with Grand Valley State fifth, Missouri-St. Louis sixth, Southern Indiana seventh and Michigan Tech eighth. Davenport came in ninth with Findlay of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) sitting 10th.

On the women's side, Drury (Mo.) of the GLVC is atop the regional listing followed by Ashland, Grand Valley State, Walsh and Kentucky Wesleyan in the top five. The second five consists of Southern Indiana, FSU, Lewis, Lindenwood (Mo.) and Truman State.

The top eight teams at the end of the season will earn berths into the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional with the women's tournament set for March 13-16 and the men's tournament March 14-17 at campus sites to be determined. The winner of all three conference tournaments (GLIAC, GLVC, G-MAC) will earn an automatic bid with the number one team in the region likely to host the Midwest Regional Tournament in March.

The next set of regional rankings will be announced next Wednesday with the final set of rankings set for March 4. The official selections into the NCAA Division II Tournament will be announced via NCAA.com late Sunday evening, March 8.

Ferris State has made 13 previous NCAA Tournament appearances in men's basketball, including four of the last five seasons to date. The Bulldogs reached the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Championship Game and the Sweet Sixteen of the national tournament four years ago before making another regional semifinal appearance in 2017. Two years ago, the Bulldogs claimed their first national championship while finishing with all-time NCAA best 38-1 overall record after winning the Midwest Regional on their home floor at Jim Wink Arena. FSU narrowly missed returning to the tournament for the fifth consecutive year last season.

Meanwhile, the Bulldog women's squad has made four all-time NCAA Tourney appearances with the last coming in 2011-12 when FSU reached the Midwest Regional semifinals. The Bulldogs also made berths in 1999-00, 2003-04 and 2006-07 when FSU made its deepest run by reaching the regional final and the NCAA Division II Sweet Sixteen.

Both Bulldog teams head back on the road this weekend for a pair of GLIAC doubleheaders with both teams having an opportunity to clinch division championships. The Bulldogs will first visit Purdue Northwest on Thursday (Feb. 20) for a league doubleheader at John Friend Court located inside the Fitness and Recreation Center in Hammond, Ind. The women's game will tipoff first at 6 p.m. (ET) followed by the men's game at approximately 8 p.m. (ET).

FSU then wraps up the conference twinbill against Wisconsin-Parkside on Saturday (Feb. 22) with the women's game getting underway at 2 p.m. (ET) and the men's game slated to begin at 4 p.m. (ET) at DeSimone Gymnasium in Kenosha, Wis.

Entering the weekend trip, both Ferris State teams hold a two-game lead atop the GLIAC North Division standings with three games remaining in the regular-season. After this week's action, both teams return home to host Lake Superior State in the regular-season finales on Thursday, Feb. 27, at Jim Wink Arena.

The Bulldog men's squad, which is currently 24-5 overall and 13-4 in the GLIAC, is seeking its 16th all-time conference title and third in the past four years. Meanwhile, the FSU women's team, which is presently 18-7 overall and 12-5 in league action, can claim its third-ever league crown and first since 2012.

Below are the current NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Rankings: